Does our stuff define us or do we express who we are by what we buy?
Thoughts about why I've purchased the things I have.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Middle age is a bitch. Joints aren’t so limber, hair's a little thinner, and eyes don't work so well in dark places like restaurants. After a few too many meals where I used the table candle for extra light (luckily, no menus went up in flames), moved the menu back and forth hoping to find a sweet spot between blurriness and illumination, or sheepishly asked someone to read to me, I decided to get help. (I could bring my glasses but forgetfulness is my nature (and I can't blame that on getting older).) My options were a magnifier or a light. A light made more sense, I could get a small one and put it on my keychain (I always remember my keys); as a bonus it would have other uses.

The internet is a great thing, you can find a lot of stuff to meet your needs. What sucks for a hands-on person is one can't always make the best decision based on photos and descriptions (I know I'm stating the obvious) so I procrastinate or over-think small decisions. After way too much surfing/research, I went to my local REI and bought the only light they had that fit my criteria:

Fairly small.

Don't have to hold the switch.

Not too expensive.

It worked well, the light level was good, but after a couple weeks, the switch broke (but not because it was old, Mr. Costello). It was partly my fault for futzing with it too much (pressing the on-off switch multiple times made it strobe, and I am easily amused). I don't remember the brand. I replaced it with a Garrity K001G. I had it for a couple months, but it didn’t stay on automatically and it wasn't as bright as I'd hoped. But it's a nice size and the battery has lasted a long time. So I kept looking until I saw the Streamlight 73001 Nano. I am impressed. Twist head like a Maglight (I have a few around the house of various sizes, another fine product) so it’ll stay on, very bright (almost a little too bright but that's better than the alternative), very small, and looks cool (a bonus).